Through the gates of Tartarus
by GoblinCrusher
Summary: About a mission Shepard undertakes after returning from the Collecter Base, and his mysterious and über-awesome new crew member. Enjoy. Oh, by the way: No, I will not write my version of ME3. I'll leave that to the pros IE BioWare
1. Never a moment's rest

Okay, here's my official, REAL, first go at a fanfic. I guess it's sort of a sequel to the Tali Sex Scene. Anyway, reviews are always nice. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

A soft rumble was heard as the Normandy SR-2 powered down it's FTL drives and switched to sub-light engines. Jeff "Joker" Moreau's hands danced across his holo-dislpays, as his face became illuminated on the left hand side by a blue flicker of light; the ship's artificial intelligence, EDI.

"_We are nearing the Citadel, Jeff"_

The pilot shrugged the comment of with a wave of his hand and the phrase:

"Yeah, yeah, call Shepard and tell 'im where there. He'll want to have chat with the Council about the Collector base and all that jazz."

"_Very well, Jeff"_

Shepard rested his eyes on Tali's purple-tinted face, knowing that it soon had to be covered again by a mask. She'd taken an extra dose of antibiotics this time, to allow her to sleep beside Shepard for a while after they finished. He marveled at the fact that just less than a week ago, he, Tali and Garrus had been running for their lives inside a base of gene-manipulated Protheans, himself barely escaping with his life.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by EDI's voice over the ship's comm:

"_Shepard, we are nearing the Citadel."_

He repressed a rude response and said:

"Thank you EDI. Now if you don't mind, the lady and I need to get dressed."

"_Of course, Shepard"_, a hint of playfulness in her synthetic voice.

* * *

The doors opened with a slight _woosh_, and Shepard stepped onto the Presidium balcony, followed by Miranda Lawson and Garrus Vakarian. Waiting for him inside were Councilor David Edward Anderson, and the three holographic images of the other Council members. They all looked, and lit, up when Shepard entered the room. Anderson grasped Shepard's hand and smiled broadly.

"Shepard", spoke the Asari Councilor, "News of your success against the Collectors has spread quickly, though not as publicly as I'm sure you would have liked."

The Turian Councilor quickly took over, giving Shepard no time to respond:

"Taking down the Collector Base was certainly an... impressive feat. A surprising outcome, looking at your past decisions."

Shepard smiled inside at the Councilor's reluctance to acknowledge his success, and was about to respond when the Salarian spoke:

"Nevertheless, it would seem we owe you our lives again, Commander. But more to the point, I suppose you've come to once again ask for our assistance against the... Reapers?"

"Indeed", Shepard responded, relieved over the fact that they possessed some amount of foresight in the matter, "The Reaper coordinating the Collectors were known as Harbinger... and now that the Collectors are destroyed, he's sure to be preparing the Reapers for their attack on this galaxy. The Council must realize this threat by now."

The Asari Councilor hastily responded with:

"And we do... to a degree. I apologize for the continued disbelief, but the fact remains to convince the governments of the civilized races, and for you, Shepard, to call in your favors from those you've helped on your quest. But this will take time, as I'm sure you understand."

Shepard felt annoyance boil in his mind, but kept calm. No need to incite more hostility.

"I do, Councilor. And I mean to get on that as soon as I leave. And I also mean to get in touch with the Alliance about my returned service there."

Anderson stepped forward, hastily acknowledging Shepard's statement:

"I'm sure they would be happy to have you back, now that your affiliation with Cerberus has come to an end."

The remaining Council looked surprised at this claim. The Asari Councilor said, a hint of satisfaction in her voice:

"Oh? If this is true, it certainly bodes well for your continued efforts, Shepard."

Shepard nodded, smiling, and said:

"It's true, Councilor, and I'm happy to say that, frankly. And now, if there was nothing else, we should be going..."

"Actually, Commander..."

The Salarian Councilor had spoken up, catching Shepard slightly off guard, though not visibly.

"Yes?"

"We were hoping that not all your connections with Cerberus were cut."

Shepard frowned, puzzled, and before he could respond, Miranda stole his line;

"Why? What have they done now?"

The Council looked slightly uncomfortable with the fact that one of Shepard's squad had been allowed to speak out of turn, but continued:

"We picked up a very important piece of radio chatter on Cerberus channels by luck", the Turian Councilor said, "And we would prefer if you went and investigated the matter, Commander."

Shepard glanced at his teammates, then said:

"My ship's badly damaged, and I need to gather allies for the Reaper attack. What's important enough to draw attention away from that?"

The Asari Councilor answered the question:

"Well, it seems that Cerberus has invested quite a large amount of credits into an unknown project, on a small, remote planet in the Terminus Systems. We're concerned it might be some sort of weapon."

Shepard crossed his arms in annoyance.

"So send the fleet in. Or send another Spectre. Why me?"

"Well firstly, because we don't want to provoke war with the Terminus, especially now that we're about to start arming against the Reapers. Also, you've quite gotten familiar with the Terminus Systems of late, and you're our most effective operative. And we thought this might actually interest you personally."

"How so?" Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"Cerberus has never invested this much funds into any project. Except for you, Shepard."

* * *

Shepard gazed at the hazy blue of FTL space, his right hand on Joker's seat. The crippled pilot glanced at his Commander, and broke the silence:

"Any idea what's up with this, sir?"

Shepard's response was short and rough:

"The Council were a little vague on that point, Joker. Just get us there."

"Geez, sorry for asking..."

Shepard remained silently staring out the windows. He was worried. Very worried.

What was the Illusive Man up to? He couldn't be trying to... get back at Shepard somehow? No, the Council said the project had been running since a year after they started working on him. Was the Illusive Man really crazy enough to plan an attack on the other races? He knew about the Reapers, knew about the threat they posed. Was it a back up plan, in case Shepard had failed? The possibilities were endless in Shepard's mind. And he wasn't calmed by that fact. The real fact was, that Cerberus was capable of virtually anything. It could be anything.

A soft rumble was heard as the Normandy SR-2 powered down it's FTL drives.

* * *

Okay, appetites wetted... hopefully enough for you to bear with me through the long periods of writer's block. Thank you, and **review please!! **P.S: For those of you who got around to read the first draft; I changed Turian Councilor's dialouge a bit after a comment Haxxer. Also, the reason for the lack of, quote: "separators between transisions"(review) is that I forgot to check how it looked on the site in Document Manager. This will probably become a regular occurance, so notify me of those kind of things right away.


	2. Discovery

Okay, Chap. 2. Gotta say,(with some embarassment) I think this is the furthest I've come on any fanfic. Normally I just write the first chapter then either lose interest or can't come up with the rest. I've got some issues later on, but not until like, Chapter 4. You'll know them by then, and I'll appreciate tips for the continuity of the story, though it will have to be kept within a certain theme. I think that is going to come across rather clear as well. Anyway, Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Joker swirled his hands across the holo-display, and the ship's cloaking kicked in with a soft hum. Shepard leaned forward, and looked out the window.

They were in a three-planet solar system, with a sun about twice the size of Sol's. Around the second planet orbited three small frigates with Cerberus markings.

"Obviously they don't expect us. How are we looking, Joker?"

The pilot frowned at his instruments.

"We're still heavily damaged since the Collector Base, Commander. In a stand up fight, at full capacity, we could take these three hands down. But, as I said, we're not exactly at full capacity..."

Shepard nodded and quickly surveyed the battlefield, hatching a speedy stratetgy.

"Move in on the closest frigate, take it out with the Thanix Cannon. Make sure we're in an angle to dogfight the next one without worrying about cross-fire from the third."

"Aye-aye."

"_Engaging cyberwarfare suites."_, sounded EDI's mechanized voice. Shepard quickly relayed orders to her as well, telling her to disrupt the frigates' targeting systems as best she could. She responded to the remark with:

"_It will be of no issue. I always work at optimal capacity."_

The Normandy quickly moved in on the first frigate, preparing for a quick transition to the next one after taking it out.

"Fire."

Joker punched the button, and the eery blue light of the Thanix Cannon lit up the dark void, instantly ripping though the Cerberus frigate's kinetic barriers and armor. As the frigate started shattering into smaller pieces, the Normandy moved on to the remaining two vessels, who quickly responding to the threat. Joker quickly dodged a salvo of disruptor torpedoes by spiraling above it, continuing around the nearest frigate. The Normandy spat out it's own torpedoes at near point-blank range, instantly tearing the frigate's kinetic barriers and hull to pieces.

As they swung around towards the final frigate, a second blur of projectiles came swooshing through space, though grossly misdirected, crashing off into deep space. Shepard felt a smirk creeping up on him; EDI did indeed work at optimal capacity.

"EDI, what are picking up?", Shepard spoke to the blue hologram on his left, as the final frigate crumbled beneath the Thanix Cannon.

"_My scans have detected three separate compounds on the surface, approximately one mile apart from each other. Surface security looks minimal."_

Shepard nodded and started moving down the CIC, tapping his comm as he went to relay orders:

"We're going ground-side. Garrus, Miranda, Jacob, Grunt, and Thane; suit up and meet me by the shuttle. I want this done fast and hard."

* * *

As the shuttle exited the Normandy-SR2's docking bay, he leaned forward toward his teammates:

"Garrus and I will touch down at the first base. Miranda and Jacob will touch down at base two, Grunt and Thane at the third. Look for anything particularly suspicious and report back to me. If they surrender, or if you encounter unharmed scientists, take them into custody, and we'll secure them for an Alliance court."

Grunt snorted.

"Grunt, I mean that. No killing civilians."

"Yeah, yeah..."

He snorted again. Then added: "... Battlemaster."

The shuttle opened hovering a metre off the ground, dropping off Garrus and Shepard. As the shuttle closed, two mechanized turrets rose up on either side of the compound's entrance. A speedy Overload from Garrus and a short burst from Shepard's Revenant rifle, and they split into pieces.

They where on a desert world, or at least something similar to it. In all directions there were hills of reddish rock, and the entrances to the other compounds could be seen in the distance if you strained your eyes. Not interested in the view, Shepard and Garrus moved in on the facility.

They entered a long, downward-facing corridor of typical Cerberus design, steering of to the right at the far end. Immediately, they were greeted by an assault probe, quickly taken down by another Overload from Garrus. Moving to the end of the corridor, they positioned themselves on either side of the door. Shepard hand-signaled to Garrus to stand-by, acknowledged by a nod. Shepard clicked the door console, and the door swooshed open.

As they stormed in, a spray of bullets bounced of their shields. Ducking behind the railing of a flight stairs going down to the right, Shepard quickly switched on his incendiary ammo and took out a guard that peeked out from the bottom of them.

There were six guards in total, counting the one who just lost half his brain. Two were hiding behind some kind of monitoring console, displaying the planet and it's surface on two separate images. Shepard assumed that was how they'd known they were coming. The remaining three stood up with their rifles pointed at the railing, waiting for the duo to make a move.

Shepard nodded at Garrus, and at blinding speed, they rose up simultaneously, picked their targets, and fired. The three standing guards fell in an instant, and as the two crouching behind cover peered up, their heads exploded in two short bursts of bullets.

There were two exits two the room, not counting the one Shepard and Garrus had used; one straight ahead in the far right corner of the room, and one leading left, at the far left side of the room. Shepard moved down the stairs, toward the right-hand side door, signaling to Garrus to take cover at the left of it, moving right himself. He clicked the door open and quickly looked inside, withdrawing his head almost instantly at the sound of gunfire, and the cause of it grazing his shields.

The Cerberus personnel sweated heavily in their suits, by now suspecting who they were actually fighting.

Silence. More sweat. Readjusting your grip on the rifle. Carefully inspecting the edges of the doorway for signs of movement. Then suddenly, Shepard appeared in to opening, fired his weapon , and stepped back. The guards were thrown back by the blast of the heavy weapon, slamming into the walls with enough force to be knocked unconscious. Those that still moved after bouncing off the floor soon did no more, as Shepard and Garrus moved in and released hell on the survivors. Shepard nodded back towards the were they'd entered.

"Check out that other room. It looks like the next from this one is the last. Let me know what you find."

Garrus nodded and disappeared behind the edge of the door.

Shepard moved in on the entrance at the left edge of the broad hallway, and clicked it open. The two security probes were quickly dispatched by his Revenant rifle.

What he saw next nearly made him drop his weapon.

He stood in a long, rectangular room, blue-tinted and with smooth tiles in the floor and walls, which were lined with two power generators on either side. The ceiling looked as if made up of nothing but wires, plugging into the generators... and a liquid-containment tank at the end of the room.

Shepard warily moved closer to the tank. Straining his eyes, he could make out a human form and face, though obscured by the murky, blueish substance inside the tank. From what he could see, it was a man, clad in what looked like plain, white lab-scrubs. His eyes were closed, and connected to his arms, legs and head were thin, clear tubes.

"_Shepard? Shepard?!."_

Startled, he tapped his comm.

"Report."

"_This is Team One"_, Miranda's voice sounded in his ear._"We've found what looks like a training facility, though not large enough for more than a few people, and something that looks like a study of sorts. Also, we've found some unusual and... well, quite frankly, very dated equipment."_

"Such as?"

"_Well... swords. And a pair of gauntlets with... talons at the edge of the fingers. Should be bring it back?"_

Shepard stared at the tank, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind.

"What the hell were you up to here..."

"_Shepard?"_

"What? Oh, yes, bring it back. Team Two, what have you got?"

Thane's raspy voice brought the news.

"_Strange things, Shepard. Lots of empty pods, and some filled ones. We can't make out the races, but from what else we've found, they were conducting some pretty severe experiments on them. I'm downloading the data to my omni-tool."_

"Great. Meet you back at the shuttle. Garrus?"

"_Haven't found much. Looks like records, but it's heavily coded. Be better get this back to Tali to figure out."_

"Roger that, Garrus. And..." Shepard glanced at the tank.

Was he crazy for even considering taking it with him? Cerberus obviously had big plans for this guy. Very big plans. But was it worth the risk just over curiosity? Was risking his crew?

"_Shepard?"_

He looked at the tank once more then said:

"...Get up here. I'm gonna need a hand with this..."

* * *

Okay, appetites wetted a little more. **Reviews** are always nice to see. By the way, moved the title of this chapter over to Chap. 3 and changed the name of this one. Seemed more suitable.

Cheers.


	3. Revelations of a rival

Okay, chapter 3! Again, this is the furthest I've ever come on a fanfic, and I also think I've got the story worked out so far. There wont be too many chapters though, as I have other things I need to focus on right now, and I don't want this hanging over my head.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The creaking of the bulkhead was the only thing heard in the Starboard Cargo of the Normandy-SR2, as Commander Shepard studied the mysterious piece of… equipment, acquired from the Cerberus research facility. EDI had found a data algorithm in the tank's memory core that allowed the tank's liquid to clear. After decrypting the data stream and plugging it in, all in a matter of a few split seconds, the tank "water" had cleared, and Shepard could finally get a good look at what exactly he had brought onto his ship.

The human was male, clad in plain, white scrubs, and beneath them were very well shaped muscles. His head and face were completely shaved, though tiny strands of black could be seen on both of them. The face itself was in one way very beautiful, and in another, very disturbing; not the slightest blemish or beauty mark was seen. The skin was smoother than steel, very pale, and the lines of the face looked as if sculpted by artisans of the finest quality.

Shepard found the whole thing highly unsettling. Conspiracy theories of every kind spun around in his head, and he felt his positive attitude slipping more and more.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by Mordin's voice on the comm. Shepard had forwarded the tank's biological results and data for him to analyze, while Tali studied the remaining files.

"Shepard. Think you should hurry up to the lab. Will want to see this."

Shepard delayed his response a little longer than intended, cutting of Mordin's repetition of his words as he said:

"Thanks, Mordin. I'll be right up."

He took a final glance at the tank, then started moving towards the elevator.

* * *

Mordin's fingers dashed across holo-displays as Shepard entered the lab. The hyperactive Salarian looked up and waved him over, impatient.

"Come, Shepard. Still analyzing, though initial findings remarkable."

"What've found?"

Shepard braced himself, knowing that you spoke those words at your own risk to Dr. Mordin Solus.

"First assumption would seem correct. Subject is tank-born, very similar to Grunt in many ways. Was bred from various, high-quality sources. Though only superficially from humans."

Shepard's eyes widened with concern, and a hint of fear.

"What are you saying?"

"Though human on the outside, the subject possess the life-span and biotic power of an Asari, the brain-power and the metabolic speed of a Salarian, the radiation-resistant skin and speed of a Turian, the durable, and secondary organs of a Krogan, and a dozen other various traits from species around the galaxy, some unknown. Though, found something… more disturbing."

Mordin went quiet, and Shepard's concerns rose drastically. When Mordin Solus finds something that makes him hesitate before saying it, you can be sure it's bad.

"I found a minuscule trace of an ancient piece of DNA: Prothean."

* * *

Shepard paced back and forth in his quarters, going over what he had just found out about his newest passenger.

A human, with the best genetic traits of every species in the galaxy. And of the Protheans. Cerberus was well funded, and well informed, but this? Judging from the other facilities they'd found on the planet, they were training this… this thing. For what? Violent take-over? Was the Illusive Man truly capable of something like that?

Shepard quickly discarded those thoughts. The Illusive Man may want power, but not at the cost of human lives. Whatever the explanation was, it was probably much more complex.

Just as that thought slipped through his mind, his private terminal beeped. He looked up and strode over to it's orange display.

1 new message. He clicked it with an uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

_Shepard._

_From what my sources tell me, you've gotten a hold of our… my… little experiment._

_I suppose all kinds of scenarios are running through your mind right about now, Shepard, so let me lay them to rest: Yes, the purpose of that specimen was to replace you, should you fail to return from the suicide mission. As I'm sure you've come to know by know, I always have a plan B. Unfortunately, this one went very bad, very fast._

_I suppose you remember your mission to the derelict Reaper, to acquire the IFF, how the science team had been indoctrinated? Well, it would seem, not all of them threw themselves on husks in worship to the Reapers. We don't know how, but they summoned up a large enough force to steal the specimen from us and relocate it, out of our grasp._

_I sent ships as soon as I got the message, the same one that led __you__ there, but it seems they just missed their mark. They apparently even got a glimpse of your taillights._

_Just so you know, Shepard, you've probably got one of the most dangerous things in the galaxy on your ship right now. I would tell you to hand it over to us, but I doubt you'd even consider it. But I will tell you this; if you want to find a silver lining in this, find out what they were plotting. I doubt they wanted the specimen for the sole purpose of study._

_This goes beyond personal vendettas, Shepard. I just hope you won't be blinded by out current… predicament._

_You won't be hearing from me again._

_Illusive Man_

Shepard glared at the message for a while, then hit delete. To his great personal discomfort, the Illusive Man had a point. Whatever they were planning, the rouge Cerberus team had to be found, if there were more out there.

* * *

Real sorry for the short length... and the crappy story. I was a bit tired and just wanted to get something up here. **Review** please!


	4. Subject

I can't decide wether I think this is a good, thrilling and exciting chapter, or if I'm losing passion, and thereby quality (I was pretty darn tired from the National Tests in math we had at school this morning.). Oh well, I'll let you decide! **Reviews please!!!** (Pretty, pretty please?)

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The elevator slowly hummed down towards engineering, carrying a most distraught Commander John Shepard. The revelations of the past few hours weighed heavily on his mind. Some concerns had been laid to rest, and some new once had awakened after the Illusive Man's message. Frankly, he didn't know what to believe, or what to do. The only situation even remotely similar to this was Grunt's, who was currently waiting for him down in the Starboard Cargo, along with Mordin and Tali.

She'd called him down just a few minutes ago, talking about new data found after decrypting a few of the first files. She said it had been too much to explain in detail over the comm., although Shepard seriously doubted anything more could surprise him today.

* * *

The cargo doors swooshed open, and the three members of Shepard's crew looked up as their Commander entered. Grunt nodded at him.

"Shepard."

"Grunt."

He moved over by Tali's side, who stood in front of the tank, her fingers swirling across her omni-tool. She looked up periodically to examine a blue-tinted holo-display on the tank's side, on which long streams of data raced across.

"Shepard, I'm glad you came so quickly. I found some references to training vids in the files you gave me. However, they also stated that, for some reason, they were stored in the tank itself. Beyond that, some rather obscure notes also mentioned more recent biology results, possibly about this… man's biotic abilities. I thought you'd be interested."

"I am, no doubt about that…"

Shepard glanced at the tank, frowned, and asked:

"Tali, if the encryption is this complex, why not just forward it to EDI?"

Tali shrugged her shoulders.

"For some reason, she couldn't interface with the files. Some sort of very advanced block. They were working with Proth… ean…"

Tali drifted off and stared at the tank.

"Tali, what is it?"

"Shepard… was the man's fist clenched before?"

Tali's left arm suddenly shot up and slammed against the side of the tank, causing a frightened shriek to escape her lips.

"Tali!"

Shepard rushed to her side and attempted to pry her arm off, along with Mordin. Grunt pulled out his massive shotgun and pointed it at the tank.

"Grunt, no…!"

"_Who…?"_

Shepard jumped at the sound, but still signaled at Grunt to lower his weapon. The korgan obeyed, reluctantly.

Shepard turned his eyes to the tank, and jolted when met by the man's open, piercing green eyes staring right at him. Both them and his gripped fist oozed with biotic force.

"_Who…?"_, the voice inquired once again, though the lips of the man remained completely immobile. Instead, the voice sounded from Tali's omni-tool. The frightened Quarian stared dumbfounded at her forearm, chocked to silence. Shepard carefully started mouthing a response.

"My name is Commander John Shepard of the Normandy – SR2. Do you… remember anything?"

He couldn't come up with anything better to say, and it seemed like a logical stall for finding something else in his thoughts.

_"… I… do… In my head… there are… pictures… memories… of you. Of me… my hands… on your… throat."_

"Of you… killing me?"

Shepard didn't know quite what to feel at the moment. Everything he did feel already fitted the situation. Uneasiness, worry… fear. Those emotions were now elevated to new heights every quarter of an hour it seemed.

_"What … they… wanted… They wanted… me… killing. Many… I… did not want… to kill. But they… made me… prepare…"_

* * *

The blue holo-display on the side of the tank cleared for a slip-second, and then filled with the footage from three separate cameras, angled over an arena of sorts, cut out of rock.

In the middle stood the man in the tank, balancing on his left foot's toes, arching his right leg and his arms in an intricate fashion. Then suddenly, form all sides of the arena, mechs stormed in. They looked similar to regular LOKI models, though their lines were smoother. Their appendages were longer as well, and their torsos were shaped almost like that of a human skeleton.

They all stormed at the man in unison, still balancing on his left foot, eyes shut. Then suddenly, they burst open, and the man erupted into a flurry of motion. He move around the mechs at almost literary blinding speed, chopping, hacking, punching and kicking around him like in a exquisitely choreographed dance of horrificly effective death. Biotic power swirled around him, causing him to flash into slip-seconds of such speed that his arm or leg disappeared into a blue blur, these sending the mechs flying as far as they could go before hitting a wall.

As the metal bodies fell around him, more streamed at him. He fought them off with the same speed and power as before, keeping it up the same pace for several minutes. Then suddenly, at a slight respite, he swirled back, crouched, and clenched his hands by his sides. As the mechs charged at him again, he unclenched his hands, turned his palms up, and opened his eyes and mouth wide. All three of them gleamed with rays of biotic power. A force field appeared around him and burst out across the mechs, instantly shredding to pieces by the sheer pressure of the shockwave. The cameras shook violently, but held, obviously zooming in from a long distance so as not to get caught in the blast.

* * *

_"I… did not en...joy… but I… did not dis...like… either… I was... confused."_

Shepard stared at the holo-display, now showing men in white robes stepping over wrecked mechs on their way to the man. Just as the vid shut down, the men each pulled out a device from their coats and pointed it at the man, falling over, clenching his body in pain.

He tried to think of something reasonable to say about what he had just seen, but to no success. Instead, he asked a more obvious question.

"How can you speak through Tali's omni-tool, and how come you have difficulty doing so?"

The man remained silent for a while, his eyes still fixed on Shepard, then responded:

_"How I speak through the… omni-tool… I do not… know…But this is… not my … ordinary… speak…"_

He apparently started to struggle with the words and added: _"Mean… speech…"_

"Fascinating!", Mordin suddenly exclaimed, "Biotic capable of interacting with and affect tech. Would like chance to study."

"Mordin, I really doubt…", Shepard started protesting, but was cut off by the man.

_"Will… get chance… Scientist… when I… leave… this state…"_

Shepard frowned at the tank.

"I haven't decided weather to let you out yet."

_"You don't… need… to…"_

As Tali was able finally pull her arm away, the seals on the tank popped open with violent bursts of air, and the liquid inside started flood out through the drain in the bottom, soaking the floor of the cargo space. The man closed his eyes, and the front of the tank slid up, exposing him to the clear air outside it. With a simple statement, he then fell forward…

"Crap."

… And slammed into the floor. Shepard instinctively reached down to help him, but was stopped halfway by a biotic field.

The man pushed himself up on his hands, blood dripping from his crooked nose. He gagged, then vomited on the floor, mixing the contents of his stomach with his blood, and the liquid of the tank.

His eyes were foggy and had great trouble concentrating. A final phrase escaped his mouth before he passed out, obviously meant for himself:

"Don't faint in puke..."

He did.

* * *

Ha ha. I might go back to edit this when I get the willpower to do so. As irritating as it is, I only get the urge to write late in the evening, and as you all know, that's about the time when a simple poop-joke can make you giggle til' you fall asleep. Suffice to say, your judgemental skills are slightly affected. I'll look at this a bit more in the morning, see what I can change to clean up the writing.

Anyway, Cheers. And **review!!!** I seriously don't care what it's about, as long as it's some sort of response from the people on the site. I can't stand this frickin' silent treatment!

Again, Cheers. And Enjoy.

P.S: If you do decide to review, please keep in mind to correct me on grammar issues. Not that I'm bad at English, it's just that when you're writing when it's 20 minutes to midnight, your eyes rarely pick up all the little misses you make...


	5. Mornin'

Look, I think you're just going to have to get used to pretty short chapters. That's just how I work. Anyway, next one's gonna delve into some background, though I won't spend the entire chapter writing that. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Shepard silently studied the new addition to the Normandy through the observation glass to the medical bay.

Shepard figured he might as well get their… relationship off on a good start, reluctant to antagonize the strange man. He hadn't even posted guards outside the bay; as he seriously doubted they would do more use then a pair of twigs.

The man lay with his eyes closed on one of the elevated, metallic gurneys, barely showing any sign of sentience. Almost immediately after exiting the tank, lacerations and bruises had appeared on the length of his body. Mordin had concluded, after a brief scan of the tank's liquid, that the subject's damages was meant to heal in two phases: firstly, the superficial damages were very slightly healed, somehow easing the second phase, which was a more much thorough tissue recreation. Neither Mordin nor Tali could manage to figure out the technology behind it, concerning Shepard greatly.

If the rouge Cerberus team were using Prothean technology, strongly suggested by the remnants of that DNA in the subject, the threat was much more serious than imagined before. Even more so if the team had operated from more than one facility, however they wouldn't know until Tali had decrypted more data from both the files they got on the planet, and now from the tank; When the subject had left the tank, it's data files had blown wide open.

Shepard returned his concentration to the man on the gurney, who was currently attended by Dr. Chakwas and a number of medical mechs.

He turned away from the observation window and headed towards the elevator. He'd summoned the crew for a meeting.

* * *

As Shepard entered the mostly rebuilt communications room, his hasty footfalls cut off any conversations that had been in progress, the crew of the Normandy standing up straight at the sight of their Commander, aside from Legion, never actually leaning down unless under fire, and Jack, who simply didn't bother. Shepard took his regular place at the far end of the table. He placed his hands on the table and stared down into it.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Shepard didn't move a muscle, then suddenly he let out a sigh, and said:

"Look, none of us know what to do about this. Or how to react… But the fact remains, that Cerberus had big plans for this guy, the Illusive Man confirmed that with his message."

He ran his hand across his face in restrained frustration.

"Our first priority is to find out if the rouge team had any more bases, then we can decide what to do with the… subject."

"I say we space 'im."

Shepard glanced at Jack, looking back without a hint of emotion.

"What? I don't like to have another human biotic who's better than me."

"That is a rather naïve viewpoint.", Samara responded with her usual cool demeanor.

"You oughta be worried too, missy. That guy seemed to know what he's doing when it came to wreckin' stuff."

"That is not what I was say…"

Shepard raised a hand and interrupted:

"I said we'd deal with him later, and I'm sticking to it. If we're lucky, he isn't hostile, maybe even friendly, but let's leave it until we're done with the rouge Cerberus team."

He paused for a second, waiting for an eventual response, then turned to Miranda.

"Miranda, you said your team salvaged some unusual equipment?"

Shepard nodded and pulled up her omni-tool, directing towards the table's holo-display.

"Correct. I suspect it's somehow connected to the subject's biotic abilities, and possibly to Prothean technology as well."

A number of items appeared over the table. A couple of peculiar handguns and rifles could be seen, along with various sword and knifes of different shapes and sizes, though all sticking to a sleek, clean, metallic design. The gauntlets adorned with talons were accompanied by several others of similar outlook, though with different add-ons, some not even distinguishable. Lastly, several lengths of straps made from a black, matte material were curled up next to each other, beside several shiny metal sheaths, obviously meant for the blades.

Miranda tapped her omni-tool, and one of the gauntlets, and a blade the size of a regular longsword, was put in zoom.

"I scanned the material these were made of, crosschecking it with every known metal we've found, even the one our hull is made of. The items' density and strength surpass even that, and I wouldn't be surprised if, with enough force, that sword could slice through modern combat armor."

Shepard studied the two items in front of him, and the same question that had drifted in his mind for weeks now, came up again:

"_What the hell are you up to?"_

"_Shepard?"_

He was startled by the sudden voice in his ear, for a second believing the subject was communicating with him telepathically. As he collected his thoughts, he recognized Dr. Chakwas familiar voice.

"Yes, doctor?"

"_The subject… he's awake." _

* * *

The elevator doors swooshed open, and Shepard stepped out, accompanied by Samara, Garrus, Tali, and Miranda. He hesitated for a split second at the medical bay's doors, then touched the green holo-display.

The subject sat on the gurney, legs pulled up to his chest with his back against the wall. His clear, gray eyes were fixed on the wall in front of him, not even twitching as Shepard entered. Chakwas stood up, nodded at her Commander, and left the room, dimming the observation window with the press of a button.

Shepard stepped forward, and the man sat as still as before.

"I'm Shepard. I was hoping we could talk."

The man remained silent for a while, then said with a calm, decisive voice:

"I owe you my thanks, Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I didn't think I would ever see the outside of that facility again, even if I fear the consequences of your little jailbreak."

"Fear? So you remember a life before you were put through this?"

The man slowly moved his gaze towards Shepard, finally locking eyes with his. Shepard was taken back by the cold in those gray eyes. Eyes that had seen endless hours of ruthless experimenting and horrors. And lived.

As the subject looked back towards the wall, he replied:

"I do. I suppose it's natural to be curios when in your position…"

* * *

Well, at least he's awake. That's sort of a milestone, right? I can't wait to get to the action bits. Trust me, you ain't seen nothin' yet. (Muahahahaha!!!!!)

P.S: Sorry. I'm really, really tired...


	6. Under and over my skin

Woo, I'm back! Don't be excpecting nothin' too drastic though, since as I've stated before, I have frequent writer's block. Once more, bear with me. **Reviews** please!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"I've been in the Alliance for over 10 years. Long enough to see the worst this galaxy's got to offer, at least by human measures, and obviously impress quite a few high rollers."

"How so?", Shepard inquired as he motioned for his teammates to leave, now that it was clear the man wasn't hostile.

The man slowly turned to face Shepard once more, and answered:

"You think you were the only one they considered for the Spectre position? As far as I know, I was in the top 10."

The man turned back towards the wall and his eyes turned glossy, as if looking a lot further than at the medical bay's plain metallic wall. Minutes passed.

Shepard sat down in Dr. Chakwas chair, patiently looking at the man squatting on the operating table. Innumerable questions rolled around through his mind. How much did the man know about what he'd been captured for? What he was capable of?

Finally, the man continued speaking.

"They called me Subject 101 at first, after they captured me. Guess they got tired of it, since I got a nickname pretty soon. Jim, I think."

He smirked.

"Guess you can't ask for originality from terrorist groups."

Before an awkward silence could settle over the room, Shepard asked:

"When did they take you?"

"I think it was about a year ago", he responded, sounding grateful not having to be the one to re-initiate conversation, "Though I can't remember much more than my wife's face. And that I was going to have daughter. Ironic that the one thing that kept me going was the one thing that kept me from leaving that place."

"What do you mean?"

Jim looked back at Shepard, finally, though his grey eyes didn't seem quite as intimidating as before.

"They knew that would make me strong. Stronger than they could control. They knew they needed something to keep me from breaking out. So they used Emma."

Shepard didn't interrupt, presuming "Emma" was his wife.

"And make no mistake, I could break out anytime I wanted. There were times I was so frustrated I thought of just killing everyone in that place, hijack a ship, and race home. But I knew they would get a transmission out way before I could even get off-world."

"And now you're afraid something's happened to your wife."

Jim looked silently at Shepard, then returned his gaze to the wall.

Again trying to prevent a new moment of silence, Shepard said:

"You don't know why they did this?"

Slightly less grateful this time, Jim answered:

"They were indoctrinated. I suppose they wanted to use me to kill you, clearing the way for the Reapers."

This actually made Shepard speechless for a moment. There was actually more people out there other than him and his crew that knew about the Reapers. When he finally was able to speak, all he got out was:

"You know?"

Ever staring at the wall, he replied, "First thing they told me. Still having trouble grasping it. Can't say it helped motivating me when they told me how I factored into their return."

Jim leaned his head back against the wall, and said:

"Could I get some time?"

"Of course."

Shepard got up and clicked the med-bay door open, but before leaving, said:

"When you're ready, the crew and I are gathering up in the briefing room. Ask EDI, the ship AI, for directions."

Jim didn't respond, and Shepard left.

* * *

The mood in the brief room was tense, to say the very least. Mordin was pacing around even more than usual, Jack was leaning against the wall, ice queen as always. Everyone else were keeping busy with trivial tasks to pass the time, except for Grunt, Samara, and Legion, who all stood quiet and patiently at their stations. All of the equipment they'd seen on the holo-display before were strewn out across the table.

And suddenly the doors slid apart.

Jim had a presence that was know all the more noticeable when in the presence of such an impressive group of operatives. Even in a plain set of scrubs, he stood out in every way. His posture, physique, the way he looked around the room, all screamed he was engineered for intricate, high-scale violence.

The only one of the crew members who responded to his entry were Samara and Legion, both slightly bowing their heads, the second mimicking the first, and Shepard was the first to speak.

"Welcome. I'd like you to meet the crew of the Normandy SR-2."

Shepard introduced everyone in the room in turn, and both Garrus and Thane followed Samara and Legion's example of bowing their heads in greeting. Jim however, remained perfectly immobile.

Finally, the last crew member was introduced, and Shepard motioned for the table.

"We were hoping that you could make some sense of this."

Jim moved forward and instinctively, the closets crew members took a step back.

"I can."

To the mixed feelings of the female members of the crew, Jim suddenly pulled off his shirt and let it fall to the floor. He then reached out his hand, and several of the matte, black straps flew to his hand with the usual hum of biotic use. With a few quick motions, he strapped them in a cross over his chest, over his upper arms, and his thighs, and reached out his hand again. This time, a pair of the talon-adorned gauntlets reached his hand, and he donned them without a word.

He pressed a previously invisible button on the back of the right gauntlet, and suddenly the straps on his body started shimmering and crackling with Element Zero energy. They expanded and wrapped around his body, merging together were they met into a glossy, figure-hugging weave.

Flexing his hands and limbs, biotic energy flared up around him, and the remaining objects on the table wobbled and lifted about half a feet over the table surface. The blades slid into their sheaths, the guns were assembled and compressed, and it all floated over to Jim, attaching to different parts of his suit. A rifle fixed to his back, a longsword on either side, whilst a pistol attached to his hip, a shotgun to his lower back, twin sub-machine guns to his calves, and dual knives above his waist.

Jim slowly stretched his neck and calmly stated:

"Questions?"

* * *

... Well, he said it.

Hopefully this'll keep you satiated until I the urge to get another chapter up. Hopefully it won't take quite as long this time.

Cheers. GoblinCrusher.


End file.
